Lettuce variety NUN 6109 LTL

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to the field of  Lactuca sativa , in particular to a new variety of lettuce designated NUN 6109 LTL as well as seeds and plants and heads or leaves thereof.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding. Inparticular, the invention provides for a new and distinct variety oflettuce designated NUN 6109 LTL (or “NUN6109” or “6109” or “NUN6109 LT”or NUN 6109 or NUN 06109 LTL).

All cultivated forms of lettuce belong to the highly polymorphic speciesLactuca sativa that is grown for its edible head and leaves. Lactucasativa is in the Asteraceae (Compositae) family. Lettuce is related tochicory, sunflower, aster, dandelion, artichoke and chrysanthemum. L.sativa is one of about 300 species in the genus Lactuca.

Fresh lettuce is available in the United States year-round although thegreatest supply is from May through October. For planting purposes, thelettuce season is typically divided into three categories, early, midand late, with the coastal areas planting from January to August, andthe desert regions planting from August to December. Fresh lettuce isconsumed nearly exclusively as fresh, raw product and occasionally as acooked vegetable.

The development of commercial lettuce cultivars requires the developmentof lettuce varieties, the crossing of these varieties, and theevaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selectionbreeding methods are used to develop cultivars from breedingpopulations. Breeding programs combine desirable traits from two or morevarieties or various broad-based sources into breeding pools from whichcultivars are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes.The new cultivars are crossed with other varieties and the inbred linesor hybrids from these crosses are evaluated to determine which havecommercial potential.

Lifestyles change and the demand from restaurants and catering firms forcolorful and interesting garnish for sandwiches and ready-to-useprocessed salads continue to rise. As a result, there is a demand forbreeding companies to develop new varieties with specific shapes ofleaves, specific average size of leaves, glossiness, prominent color anda wide variety of texture, as well as good yield.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention, a seed of new Cos/Romaine lettucevariety NUN 6109 LTL, wherein representative seed of said variety havingbeen deposited under Accession Number NCIMB 43022.

In another aspect the invention provides for a variety of Lactuca sativaNUN 6109 LTL. The invention also provides for a plurality of seeds ofthe new variety, plants produced from growing the seeds of the newvariety NUN 6109 LTL, and progeny of any of these. Especially, progenyretaining one or more (or all) of the “distinguishing characteristics”or one or more (or all) of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of NUN 6109 LTL referred to herein, are encompassedherein as well as methods for producing these.

In one aspect, such progeny have all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of lettuce variety NUN 6109 LTL when grown under thesame environmental conditions. In another aspect such progeny have allthe physiological and morphological characteristics as listed in Table 1as lettuce variety NUN 6109 LTL when measured under the sameenvironmental conditions (i.e. evaluated at significance levels of 1%,5% or 10% significance, which can also be expressed as a p value).

In another aspect a plant of the invention or said progeny plantshas/have 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or more, or all of the following (average)characteristics in addition to 1, 2, 3, 4, or more or all of thedistinguishing characteristics: 1) an average length/width index x10 offourth leaf of about 26, e.g. 25, 26, 27 or 28; 2) an average headweight of mature plant of about 594 g, e.g. 585, 590, 595, 600, 610 or620 g; 3) an average diameter of core at base of head of about 28 mm,e.g. 26, 27, 28, 29 or 30 mm; 4) an average core height from base ofhead to apex of about 43 mm, e.g. 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 or 46 mm; 5) anaverage spread of frame leaves of mature plant of about 31 cm, e.g. 28,29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 or 35 cm; 6) an average head size class of type 2(medium); 7) an average ratio of spread of frame leaves of about 1.1,e.g. 1.05; 1.06; 1.07; 1.08; 1.09; 1.10; 1.11; 1.12; 1.13; 1.14; 1.15;or 1.16; 8) average undulations of the apical margin of the mature leafof type 3 (strong); 9) strong blistering of the mature leaf.

In another aspect a plant of the invention has in addition to the 1, 2,3, 4 or more or all of the above-cited distinguishing characteristics,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or more, or all of the other (average) characteristicsas listed in Table 1.

Further, a lettuce head produced on a plant grown from these seeds isprovided.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, a plant having one, two orthree physiological and/or morphological characteristics which aredifferent from those of NUN 6109 LTL and which otherwise has all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 6109 LTL aslisted in Table 1, wherein a representative sample of seed of varietyNUN 6109 LTL has been deposited under Accession Number NCIMB 43022, isprovided.

Further, a vegetatively propagated or regenerated plant of variety NUN6109 LTL, or a part thereof, is provided having all the morphologicaland physiological characteristics of NUN 6109 LTL when grown under thesame environmental conditions.

Also a plant part derived from variety NUN 6109 LTL is provided, whereinsaid plant part is selected from the group consisting of: head, leaf orleaves, fruit, pollen, ovule, cell, part of a leaf, petioles, shoots orparts thereof, stems or parts thereof, vines or parts thereof, roots orparts thereof, cuttings, seeds, hypocotyl, cotyledon, flowers or partsthereof, scion, stock, rootstock and flower. Heads are particularlyimportant plant parts.

Definitions

All patent and non-patent literatures cited herein are incorporated byreference in their entireties.

“Lettuce” refers herein to plants of the species Lactuca sativa L.

“Cultivated lettuce” refers to plants of Lactuca sativa i.e. varieties,breeding lines or cultivars of the species L. sativa as well ascrossbreds thereof, or crossbreds with other Lactuca sativa species, oreven with other Lactuca species, cultivated by humans and having goodagronomic characteristics; preferably such plants are not “wild plants”,i.e. plants which generally have much poorer yields and poorer agronomiccharacteristics than cultivated plants and e.g. grow naturally in wildpopulations. “Wild plants” include for example ecotypes, PI (PlantIntroduction) lines, landraces or wild accessions or wild relatives ofLactuca sativa, comprising, for example L. virosa or L. serriola, andother related species.

The terms “NUN 6109 LTL”, “lettuce plant designated NUN 06524”, “NUN06524” or “variety designated NUN 6109 LTL” are used interchangeablyherein and refer to a lettuce plant of variety NUN 6109 LTL,representative seed of which having been deposited under AccessionNumber NCIMB 43022.

“USDA descriptors” are the plant variety descriptors described forlettuce in the “Objective description of Variety—Lettuce (Lactuca sativaL.)”, as published by U.S. Department of Agriculture, AgriculturalMarketing Service, Science and Technology, Plant Variety ProtectionOffice, Beltsville, Md. 20705 and which can be downloaded from the worldwide web at ams.usda.gov/ underAMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=stelprdc5069208.

“UPOV descriptors” are the plant variety descriptors described forlettuce in the “Guidelines for the Conduct of Tests for Distinctness,Uniformity and Stability,” TG/013/10 (Geneva 2006, last updated Mar. 20,2013), as published by UPOV (International Union for the Protection ofNew Varieties and Plants) and which can be downloaded from the worldwide web at upov.int/ under edocs/tgdocs/en/tg013.pdf and is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety. Likewise, “UPOV methods” todetermine specific parameters for the characterization of lettuce aredescribed at upov.int.

“RHS” refers to the Royal Horticultural Society of England whichpublishes an official botanical color chart quantitatively identifyingcolors according to a defined numbering system, The chart may bepurchased from Royal Horticulture Society Enterprise Ltd RHS Garden;Wisley, Woking; Surrey GU236QB, UK, e.g., the RHS colour chart: 2007(The Royal Horticultural Society, charity No: 222879, PO Box 313 LondonSW1P2PE; sold by, e.g., TORSO-VERLAG, Obere Graben 8, D-97877 Wertheim,Article-No.: Art62-00008 EAN-Nr.: 4250193402112).

As used herein, the term “plant” includes the whole plant or any partsor derivatives thereof, preferably having the same genetic makeup as theplant from which it is obtained, such as plant organs (e.g. harvested ornon-harvested heads or leaves or packages comprising a plurality ofleaves and/or heads of NUN 6109 LTL), plant cells, plant protoplasts,plant cell tissue cultures or tissue cultures from which whole plantscan be regenerated, plant calli, plant cell clumps, plant transplants,seedlings, hypocotyl, cotyledon, plant cells that are intact in plants,plant clones or micropropagations, or parts of plants (e.g. harvestedtissues or organs), such as plant cuttings, vegetative propagations,embryos, pollen, ovules, fruits, flowers, leaves, heads, seeds, clonallypropagated plants, roots, stems, vines, root tips, grafts, scions,rootstocks, parts of any of these and the like. Also any developmentalstage is included, such as seedlings, cuttings prior or after rooting,mature and/or immature plants or mature and/or immature leaves.

“Tissue Culture” refers to a composition comprising isolated cells ofthe same or a different type or a collection of such cells organizedinto parts of a plant. Tissue culture of various tissues of lettuce andregeneration of plants therefrom is well known and widely published(see, e.g., Teng et al., HortScience. 1992, 27(9): 1030-1032 Teng etal., HortScience. 1993, 28(6): 669-1671, Zhang et al., Journal ofGenetics and Breeding. 1992, 46(3): 287-290).

“Cotyledon” refers to one of the first leaves of the embryo of a seedplant; typically one or more in monocotyledons, two in dicotyledons andtwo or more in gymnosperms.

“Head” as used herein refers to lettuce heads, i.e., the plant withoutthe root system, for example substantially all harvested leaves.Encompassed are immature leaves (e.g. “baby leaf”) and mature leaves, aswell as “loose leaf” and stem types.

The “base” of a plant is the part of a lettuce plant where the leavesare attached to the root system of the plant.

“Core length” of the internal lettuce stem is measured from the base ofthe cut and trimmed head to the tip of the stem.

“Head weight” refers to the mean weight of saleable lettuce head, cutand trimmed to market specifications.

“Head diameter” refers to the mean diameter of the cut and trimmed head,sliced vertically, and measured at the widest point perpendicular to thestem.

“Head height” refers to the mean height of the cut and trimmed head,sliced vertically, and measured from the base of the cut stem to theleaf tip.

“Core Length to Head Diameter Ratio (CLHD Ratio)” refers to the meancore length/head diameter ratio. It is calculated by dividing the meancore length with the mean head diameter. This is an indication of thehead shape and of the ability of a lettuce plant to reduce the amount ofsurface which is on or close to the ground.

“Harvested plant material” refers herein to plant parts (e.g., leaves orheads detached from the whole plant) which have been collected forfurther storage and/or further use.

“Harvested seeds” refers to seeds harvested from a line or variety,e.g., produced after self-fertilization or cross-fertilization andcollected.

“Yield” means the total weight of all lettuce heads or leaves harvestedper hectare of a particular line or variety. It is understood that“yield” expressed as weight of all lettuce heads or leaves harvested perhectare can be obtained by multiplying the number of plants per hectaretimes the “yield per plant”.

“Marketable yield” means the total weight of all marketable lettuceheads or leaves harvested per hectare of a particular line or variety,i.e. lettuce heads or leaves suitable for being sold for freshconsumption, having good color, glossiness size and texture and no orvery low levels of deficiencies.

“Ground” refers to the surrounding of the aerial tissues of a lettuceplant in which it is grown, or which is placed on the growing medium(e.g. a foil covering the growing medium such as soil but which does notcover the aerial plant, e.g., there is a hole in the foil through whichthe lettuce plant is growing).

A plant having “all the physiological and morphological characteristics”of a referred-to-plant means a plant having the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the referred-to-plant when grown underthe same environmental conditions; the referred-to-plant can be a plantfrom which it was derived, e.g. the progenitor plant, the parent, therecurrent parent, the plant used for tissue- or cell culture, etc.

A plant having “essentially all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics” of a referred-to-plant means a plant having at least 5(e.g. 6, 7, 8, 9 or all) of the distinguishing physiological andmorphological characteristics (distinguishing characteristics as hereindefined) when grown under the same environmental conditions of thereferred-to-plant (e.g. a plant from which it was derived such as theprogenitor plant, the parent, the recurrent parent, the plant used fortissue- or cell culture, etc.). Alternatively, a plant having“essentially all the physiological and morphological characteristics” ofa referred-to-plant means a plant having all the characteristics aslisted in Table 1 when grown under the same environmental conditions asa referred-to-plant (e.g. a plant from which it was derived such as theprogenitor plant, the parent, the recurrent parent, the plant used fortissue- or cell culture, etc.). In another embodiment, a plant having“essentially all the physiological and morphological characteristics” ofa referred-to-plant means a plant having all but 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 of thecharacteristics as listed in Table 1 when grown under the sameenvironmental conditions as a referred-to-plant (e.g. a plant from whichit was derived such as the progenitor plant, the parent, the recurrentparent, the plant used for tissue- or cell culture, etc.).

For NUN 6109 LTL the distinguishing characteristics are 1) averagelength/width index x10 of fourth leaf; 2) average head weight of matureplant; 3) average diameter of core at base of head; 4) average coreheight from base of head to apex; 5) average spread of frame leaves ofmature plant; 6) average head size class; 7) average ratio of spread offrame leaves; 8) average undulation of the apical margin of the matureleaf; 9) mature leaf blistering).

In certain embodiments the plant of the invention has all thephysiological and morphological characteristics, except for certaincharacteristics mentioned, e.g. the characteristic(s) derived from aconverted or introduced gene or trait and/or except for thecharacteristics which differ.

Similarity between different plants is defined as the number ofdistinguishing characteristics (or the characteristics as listed inTable 1) that are the same between the two plants that are compared whengrown under the same environmental conditions. Characteristics areconsidered “the same” when the value for a numeric characteristic isevaluated at significance levels of 1%, 5% or 10% significance level, orwhen a non-numeric characteristic is identical, if the plants are grownunder the same conditions.

A plant having one or more “essential physiological and/or morphologicalcharacteristics” or one or more “distinguishing characteristics” refersto a plant having (or retaining) one or more of the characteristicsmentioned in Table 1 when grown under the same environmental conditionsthat distinguish NUN 6109 LTL from the most similar varieties (such asvariety GREEN TOWERS), such as but not limited to average head weight,leaf size, shape, color, glossiness and texture, maturity, or bolting.

“Distinguishing characteristics” or “distinguishing morphological and/orphysiological characteristics” refers herein the characteristics whichare distinguishing between NUN 6109 LTL and other lettuce varieties,such as GREEN TOWERS, when grown under the same environmentalconditions, especially the following characteristics 1) an averagelength/width index x10 of fourth leaf of about 26 cm (e.g. between 26-4%and 26+4%); 2) an average head weight of mature plant of about 594 g(e.g. between 594-5% and 594+5% g); 3) an average diameter of core atbase of head of about 28 mm (e.g. between 28-5% and 28+5% mm); 4) anaverage core height from base of head to apex of about 43 mm (e.g.between 43-5% and 43+5% mm); 5) an average spread of frame leaves ofmature plant of about 31 cm (e.g. between 31-5% and 31+5% cm); 6) anaverage head size class of type 2 (medium); 7) an average ratio ofspread of frame leaves of about 1.1 (e.g. between 0.99 and 1.21); 8)strong average undulations of the apical margin of the mature leaf; 9)strong blistering of the mature leaf.

In one aspect, the distinguishing characteristics further include atleast one, two, three or more (or all) of the characteristics listed inTable 1. All numerical distinguishing characteristics are statisticallysignificantly different at p≤0.05.

Thus, a lettuce plant “comprising the distinguishing characteristics ofNUN 6109 LTL” refers herein to a lettuce plant which does not differsignificantly from NUN 6109 LTL in characteristics 1) to 5) above. In afurther aspect the lettuce plant further does not differ significantlyfrom NUN 6109 LTL in one or more, or all characteristics 6) to 9) asmentioned above. In yet a further aspect the lettuce plant further doesnot differ in at least one, two, three, four, five or six (or all)characteristics selected from the characteristics listed in Table 1. Instill another aspect the lettuce plant does not differ in any of thedistinguishing characteristics 1) to 9) listed above.

The physiological and/or morphological characteristics mentioned aboveare commonly evaluated at significance levels of 1%, 5% or 10% if theyare numerical, or for identical type if not numerical, when measuredunder the same environmental conditions. For example, a progeny plant ofNUN 6109 LTL may have one or more (or all) of the essentialphysiological and/or morphological characteristics of NUN 6109 LTLlisted in Table 1, as determined at the 5% significance level (i.e.p≤0.05) when grown under the same environmental conditions.

As used herein, the term “variety” or “cultivar” means a plant groupingwithin a single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, whichgrouping, irrespective of whether the conditions for the grant of abreeder's right are fully met, can be defined by the expression of thecharacteristics resulting from a given genotype or combination ofgenotypes, distinguished from any other plant grouping by the expressionof at least one of the said characteristics and considered as a unitwith regard to its suitability for being propagated unchanged.

“Progeny” as used herein refers to plants derived from a plantdesignated NUN 6109 LTL. Progeny may be derived by regeneration of cellculture or tissue culture or parts of a plant designated NUN 6109 LTL orselfing of a plant designated NUN 6109 LTL or by producing seeds of aplant designated NUN 6109 LTL. In further embodiments, progeny may alsoencompass plants derived from crossing of at least one plant designatedNUN 6109 LTL with another lettuce plant of the same or another varietyor (breeding) line, or wild Lactuca plants, backcrossing, inserting of alocus into a plant or mutation. A progeny is, e.g., a first generationprogeny, i.e. the progeny is directly derived from, obtained from,obtainable from or derivable from the parent plant by, e.g., traditionalbreeding methods (selfing and/or crossing) or regeneration. However, theterm “progeny” generally encompasses further generations such as second,third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh or more generations, i.e.,generations of plants which are derived from, obtained from, obtainablefrom or derivable from the former generation by, e.g., traditionalbreeding methods, regeneration or genetic transformation techniques. Forexample, a second generation progeny can be produced from a firstgeneration progeny by any of the methods mentioned above.

“Plant line” is for example a breeding line which can be used to developone or more varieties. Progeny obtained by selfing a plant line has thesame phenotype as its parents.

“Inbred variety” refers to an inbred (nearly homozygous) line or seedsthereof. For example, the (nearly homozygous) plant is repeatedly (e.g.at least 6) self-pollinated or the (nearly homozygous) female parent isrepeatedly pollinated with pollen of the same plant line to produceinbred seeds on the female parent.

The term “traditional breeding techniques” encompasses herein crossing,selfing, selection, double haploid production, embryo rescue, protoplastfusion, marker assisted selection, mutation breeding etc. as known tothe breeder (i.e. methods other than geneticmodification/transformation/transgenic methods), by which, for example,a genetically heritable trait can be transferred from one lettuce lineor variety to another.

“Crossing” refers to the mating of two parent plants. Equally“Cross-pollination” refers to fertilization by the union of two gametesfrom different plants.

“Backcrossing” is a traditional breeding technique used to introduce atrait into a plant line or variety. The plant containing the trait iscalled the donor plant and the plant into which the trait is transferredis called the recurrent parent. An initial cross is made between thedonor parent and the recurrent parent to produce progeny plants. Progenyplants which have the trait are then crossed to the recurrent parent.After several generations of backcrossing and/or selfing the recurrentparent comprises the trait of the donor. The plant generated in this waymay be referred to as a “single trait converted plant”.

“Selfing” refers to self-pollination of a plant, i.e., the transfer ofpollen from the anther to the stigma of the same plant. Lettuce is anobligate self-pollination species, which means that pollen is shedbefore stigma emergence, assuring 100% self-fertilization.

In order to optimize crossing, a method of misting may be used to washthe pollen off, prior to fertilization to assure crossing orhybridization.

“Regeneration” refers to the development of a plant from cell culture ortissue culture or vegetative propagation.

“Vegetative propagation”, “vegetative reproduction” or “clonalpropagation” are used interchangeably herein and mean the method oftaking part of a plant and allowing that plant part to form at leastroots where plant part is, e.g., defined as or derived from (e.g. bycutting of) leaf, pollen, embryo, cotyledon, hypocotyl, cells,protoplasts, meristematic cell, root, root tip, pistil, anther, flower,shoot tip, shoot, stem, fruit, and petiole. When a whole plant isregenerated by vegetative propagation, it is also referred to as avegetative propagation.

“Locus” (plural loci) refers to the specific location of a gene or DNAsequence on a chromosome. A locus may confer a specific trait.

“Genotype” refers to the genetic composition of a cell or organism.

“Allele” refers to one or more alternative forms of a gene locus. All ofthese loci relate to one trait. Sometimes, different alleles can resultin different observable phenotypic traits, such as differentpigmentation. However, many variations at the genetic level result inlittle or no observable variation. If a multicellular organism has twosets of chromosomes, i.e. diploid, these chromosomes are referred to ashomologous chromosomes. Diploid organisms have one copy of each gene(and therefore one allele) on each chromosome. If both alleles are thesame, they are homozygotes. If the alleles are different, they areheterozygotes.

The terms “gene converted” or “conversion plant” in this context referto lettuce plants which are developed by backcrossing whereinessentially all of the desired morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of parent are recovered in addition to the one or moregenes transferred into the parent via the backcrossing technique or viagenetic engineering. Likewise a “Single Locus Converted (Conversion)Plant” refers to plants which are developed by plant breeding techniquescomprising or consisting of backcrossing, wherein essentially all of thedesired morphological and physiological characteristics of a lettucevariety are recovered in addition to the characteristics of the singlelocus having been transferred into the variety via the backcrossingtechnique and/or by genetic transformation.

“Transgene” or “chimeric gene” refers to a genetic locus comprising aDNA sequence which has been introduced into the genome of a lettuceplant by transformation. A plant comprising a transgene stablyintegrated into its genome is referred to as “transgenic plant”.

“Substantially equivalent” refers to a characteristic that, whencompared, does not show a statistically significant difference (e.g.,p=0.05) from the mean.

“Average” refers herein to the arithmetic mean.

“First water date” refers to the date the seed first receives adequatemoisture to germinate. This can and often does equal the planting date.

“Maturity date” refers to the stage when the plants are of full size oroptimum weight, in marketable form or shape to be of commercial oreconomic value. This is also the time point when measuring parameters of“mature” leaves.

The term “mean” refers to the arithmetic mean of several measurements.The skilled person understands that the appearance of a plant depends tosome extent on the growing conditions of said plant. Thus, the skilledperson will know typical growing conditions for lettuce of the typesdescribed herein. The mean, if not indicated otherwise within thisapplication, refers to the arithmetic mean of measurements on at least10 different, randomly selected plants of a variety at a requireddeveloping stage (e.g., fourth leaf or mature).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a lettuce (Lactuca sativa) variety,designated NUN 6109 LTL. Lettuce variety designated NUN 6109 LTL is ofthe Cos/Romaine Type (USDA sheet). NUN 6109 LTL—when compared to checkvariety GREEN TOWERS—has a higher average length/width index x10 offourth leaf; a lower average head weight; a smaller average diameter ofcore at base of head; a smaller average core height from base of head toapex; a lower average spread of frame leaves of mature plant; an averagehead size class of type 2 (medium) instead of type 3 (large); a loweraverage ratio of spread of frame leaves; average undulations of theapical margin of the mature leaf of type 3 (strong) instead of type 2(moderate); blistering of the mature leaf of type 3 (strong) instead oftype 2 (moderate).

Also encompassed by the present invention are progeny plants having allbut 1, 2, or 3 of the morphological and/physiological characteristics ofNUN 6109 LTL and methods of producing plants in accordance with thepresent invention.

A lettuce plant of NUN 6109 LTL differs from the most similar comparisonvariety GREEN TOWERS in one or more characteristics (referred herein toas “distinguishing characteristics” or “distinguishing morphologicaland/or physiological characteristics” (or essential physiological and/ormorphological characteristics) selected from:

-   -   1) NUN 6109 LTL has an average length/width index x10 of fourth        leaf that is at least 5%, e.g. 5, 6, 7, 8, 8.4, 9, 10, 11% or        even 15% higher than GREEN TOWERS;    -   2) NUN 6109 LTL has an average head weight of mature plant that        is at least 7%, e.g. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11% or even 11.7% lower than        GREEN TOWERS;    -   3) NUN 6109 LTL has an average diameter of core at base of head        that is at least 5%, e.g. 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17% or even        17.6% lower than GREEN TOWERS;    -   4) NUN 6109 LTL has an average core height from base to head of        apex that is at least 10%, e.g. 15, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30% or        even 30.6% lower than GREEN TOWERS;    -   5) NUN 6109 LTL has an average spread of frame leaves that is at        least 10%, e.g. 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, or even        26.2% smaller than GREEN TOWERS;    -   6) NUN 6109 LTL has an average head size class of type 2        (medium) whereas GREEN TOWERS has an average head size class of        type 3 (large);    -   7) NUN 6109 LTL has a ratio of spread of frame leaves at core        that is at least 5%, e.g. 6, 7, 8% or even 8.3% lower than GREEN        TOWERS;    -   8) NUN 6109 LTL has average undulations of the apical margin of        the mature leaf of type 3 (strong) whereas GREEN TOWERS has        average undulations of the apical margin of the mature leaf of        type 2 (moderate);    -   9) NUN 6109 LTL has a mature leaf blistering of type 3 (strong),        whereas GREEN TOWERS has a mature leaf blistering of type 2        (moderate).

In yet another embodiment of the invention, NUN 6109 LTL has an averageleaf width of fourth leaf that is at least 5%, e.g. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10% oreven 10.6% higher than GREEN TOWERS. In also another embodiment of theinvention, NUN 6109 LTL has an average plant leaf length of fourth leafthat is at least 12%, e.g. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18% or even 19.1% higherthan GREEN TOWERS.

In still another embodiment, NUN 6109 LTL has an average plant heightthat is at least 5%, e.g. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10% or even 11.3% lower than GREENTOWERS.

It is understood that “significant” differences refer to statisticallysignificant differences, when comparing the characteristic between twoplant lines or varieties when grown under the same conditions.Preferably at least about 10, 15, 20 or more plants per line or varietyare grown under the same conditions (i.e. side by side) andcharacteristics are measured on at least about 10, 15, 20 or morerandomly selected plant or plant parts to obtain averages. Thus,physiological and morphological characteristics or traits are commonlyevaluated at a significance level of 1%, 5% or 10%, when measured inplants grown under the same environmental conditions.

Thus, in one aspect, the invention provides seeds of the lettuce varietydesignated NUN 6109 LTL wherein a representative sample of seeds of saidvariety was deposited under the Budapest Treaty, with Accession numberNCIMB 43022.

Seeds of NUN 6109 LTL are obtainable by, e.g., growing plants from theseeds deposited under Accession number NCIMB 43022 and allowing e.g.,self-pollination and/or cross-pollination and collecting seeds from theresulting plants. The resultant NUN 6109 LTL seeds can be grown toproduce plants designated NUN 6109 LTL. Moreover, a seed designated NUN6109 LTL also refers to a seed wherein the plant grown therefrom showsall or all but 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of NUN 6109 LTL. Seeds of NUN 6109 LTL are alsoobtainable by vegetative propagation from plant cells or tissue of aplant grown from seeds of NUN 6109 LTL. In one embodiment a plurality ofNUN 6109 LTL seeds are packaged into small and/or large containers(e.g., bags, cartons, cans, etc.). The seeds may be disinfected, primedand/or treated with various compounds, such as seed coatings or cropprotection compounds.

Seed priming and pelleting treatments can be used to improve theperformance of seed of NUN 6109 LTL. Seeds are typically cleaned anddisinfected before further treatment. Pelleting creates round or roundedshapes, which are easily sown with modern sowing machines (Halmer, P.2000. Commercial seed treatment technology. In: Seed technology and itsbiological basis. Eds: Black, M. and Bewley, J. D., pages 257-286). Apelleting mixture typically contains seeds and at least glue and fillermaterial. The latter could be, for example, clay, mica, chalk orcellulose. Seed pelleting can be combined with film coating. Inaddition, certain additives can be included to improve particularproperties of the pellet, e.g., a seed treatment formulation comprisingat least one insecticidal, acaricidal, nematicidal, herbicidal,biological active, growth promoting or fungicidal ingredient can beadded directly into the pelleting mixture or in separate layers. A seedtreatment formulation can include one of these types of compounds only,a mixture of two or more of the same type of compounds.

Formulations especially suitable for the application as a seed treatmentcan be added to the seed in the form of a film coating including alsothe possibility of using the coating in or on a pellet, as well asincluding the seed treatment formulation directly into the pelletmixture. Characteristically, a film coating is a uniform, dust-free,water permeable film, evenly covering the surface of all individualseeds (Halmer, P. 2000. Commercial seed treatment technology. In: Seedtechnology and its biological basis. Eds: Black, M. and Bewley, J. D.,pages 257-286). Besides the formulation, the coating mixture generallyalso contains other ingredients such as water, glue (typically apolymer), filler materials, pigments and certain additives to improveparticular properties of the coating. Several coatings can be combinedon a single seed. In addition, several combinations with film coatingare possible: the film coating can be added on the outside of thepellet, in between two layers of pelleting material, and directly on theseed before the pelleting material is added. Also more than 1 filmcoating layer can be incorporated in a single pellet. A special type ofpelleting is encrusting. This technique uses less filler material, andthe result is a ‘mini-pellet’.

Seeds may also be primed. Of all the commercially planted vegetableseeds, lettuce is the most often primed. Priming is a water-basedprocess that is performed on seeds to increase uniformity of germinationand emergence from the soil, and thus enhance vegetable standestablishment. Priming decreases the time span between the emergence ofthe first and the last seedlings. Methods for priming lettuce seeds arewell known in the art (see, e.g., Hill et al HortScience 42(6): 1436,2007).

Also provided are plants of lettuce variety NUN 6109 LTL, or a head orleaves or another plant part thereof, produced from seeds, wherein arepresentative sample of said seeds has been deposited under theBudapest Treaty, with Accession Number NCIMB 43022. Also included is acell culture or tissue culture produced from such a plant. It isunderstood that such tissue or cell culture comprising cells orprotoplasts from the plant of the invention can be obtained from a plantpart selected from the group consisting of embryos, meristems,cotyledons, hypocotyl, pollen, leaves, heads, anthers, roots, root tips,pistil, petiole, flower, fruit, seed, stem and stalks. In one embodimenta plant regenerated from such a cell or tissue culture said plantexpressing all the morphological and physiological characteristics ofNUN 6109 LTL.

In one embodiment the invention provides a lettuce plant regeneratedfrom the tissue or cell culture of NUN 6109, wherein the plant has allof the physiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 6109 LTLas listed in Table 1 when determined at the 5% significance level. Inanother embodiment, the invention provides a lettuce plant regeneratedfrom the tissue or cell culture of NUN 6109 LTL, wherein the plant hasall of the physiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 6109LTL when determined at the 5% significance level.

Plants of NUN 6109 LTL can be produced by seeding directly in the ground(e.g., soil such as soil in a field) or by germinating the seeds incontrolled environment conditions (e.g., greenhouses) and thentransplanting the seedlings into the field (see, e.g., Gonai et al., J.of Exp. Bot., 55(394): 111, 2004; Louise Jackson et al, Publication 7215ISBN 978-1-60107-007-4 and Publication 7216 ISBN 978-1-60107-008-1 andthe world wide web at “anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu” search: lettuce forcultivation, harvesting, handling and postharvest methods commonlyused). It may also be grown in tunnels. Moreover, NUN 6109 LTL can begrown in hydroponic cultures as described in, e.g., US 2008/0222949, andthe skilled person is familiar with various types of hydroponiccultures. Alternatively, seed of NUN 6109 LTL may be grown on peat blockfor use as root ball lettuce. Furthermore, NUN 6109 LTL may be combinedwith 1, 2 or 3 different lettuce varieties to be grown as “compositelettuce” (see, e.g., EP 1 197 137 A1).

In another aspect, the invention provides for a lettuce plant of varietyNUN 6109 LTL, a representative sample of seed from said variety has beendeposited under the Budapest Treaty, with Accession number NCIMB 43022.

In other aspects, the invention provides for a lettuce head or leaves orparts thereof of lettuce variety NUN 6109 LTL, or a plant part, such aspollen, flowers, shoots or cuttings of variety NUN 6109 LTL or partsthereof.

In one embodiment a plant of the invention comprises at least 3, 4, 5 ormore, e.g. 6, 7, 8, 9 or all of the following morphological and/orphysiological characteristics (i.e. distinguishing characteristics(average values; measured at harvest or market maturity, as indicated onthe USDA Objective description of variety—Lettuce (unless indicatedotherwise), when grown under the same environmental conditions):

-   1) NUN 6109 LTL has an average length/width index x10 of fourth leaf    of about 26, e.g. between 24 and 28, or preferably between 25 and    27, or even between 26.5 and 27.5.-   2) NUN 6109 LTL has an average head weight of mature plant of about    594 g, e.g. between 580 and 610 g, or preferably between 585 and 604    g, or even between 589 and 599 g.;-   3) NUN 6109 LTL has an average diameter of core at base of head of    about 28 mm, e.g. between 26 and 30 mm, or preferably between 27 and    29 mm, or even between 27.5 and 28.5 mm;-   4) NUN 6109 LTL has an average core height from base of head to apex    of about 43 mm, e.g. between 40 and 46 mm, or preferably between 41    and 45 mm, or even between 42 and 44 mm;-   5) NUN 6109 LTL has an average spread of frame leaves of mature    plant of about 31 cm, e.g. between 28 and 34 cm, or preferably    between 29 and 33 cm, or even between 30 and 32 cm;-   6) NUN 6109 LTL has an average head size class of type 2 (medium);-   7) NUN 6109 LTL has an average ratio of spread of frame leaves of    about 1.1, e.g. between 1.0 and 1.2, or preferably between 1.05 and    1.15, or even between 1.13 and 1.18;-   8) NUN 6109 LTL has average undulations of the apical margin of the    mature leaf of type 3 (strong);-   9) NUN 6109 LTL has strong blistering of the mature leaf.

In still another aspect the invention provides a method of producing alettuce plant, comprising crossing a plant of lettuce variety NUN 6109LTL with a second lettuce plant one or more times, and selecting progenyfrom said crossing.

In yet another aspect the invention provides a method of producing alettuce plant, comprising selfing a plant of lettuce variety NUN 6109LTL one or more times, and selecting progeny from said selfing.

In other aspects, the invention provides for progeny of variety NUN 6109LTL such as progeny obtained by further breeding NUN 6109 LTL. Furtherbreeding NUN 6109 LTL includes selfing NUN 6109 LTL one or more timesand/or cross-pollinating NUN 6109 LTL with another lettuce plant orvariety one or more times. In particular, the invention provides forprogeny that retain all the essential morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of NUN 6109 LTL or that retain one or more (e.g. 1) to5) or 1) to 9) or all) of the distinguishing characteristics of thelettuce type described further above, or, in another embodiment, progenythat retain all morphological and physiological characteristics of NUN6109 LTL as listed in Table 1, when grown under the same environmentalconditions, which is determined at the 5% significance level fornumerical characteristics. In another aspect, the invention provides forvegetative reproductions of the variety and plants having all but 1, 2,or 3 of the physiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 6109LTL (e.g. as listed in Table 1).

The morphological and/or physiological differences between plantsaccording to the invention, i.e. NUN 6109 LTL or progeny thereof, orplants having all but 1, 2, or 3 of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of NUN 6109 LTL (as listed in Table 1); and other knownvarieties can easily be established by growing NUN 6109 LTL next to theother varieties (in the same field, under the same environmentalconditions), preferably in several locations which are suitable for saidlettuce cultivation, and measuring morphological and/or physiologicalcharacteristics of a number of plants (e.g., to calculate an averagevalue and to determine the variation range/uniformity within thevariety). For example, trials can be carried out in Acampo Calif., USA(N 38 degrees 07′261″/W 121 degrees 18′ 807″, USA, whereby maturity,leaf shape, size and texture, leaf color and glossiness, bolt shape,surface and length, flower size and color, head weight, diseaseresistance, insect resistance and resistance to physiological stress canbe measured and directly compared for species of Lactuca sativa.

The morphological and physiological characteristics (and distinguishingcharacteristics) of NUN 6109 LTL, are provided in the Examples, inTable 1. Encompassed herein are also plants derivable from NUN 6109 LTL(e.g. by selfings and/or crossing and/or backcrossing with NUN 6109 LTLand/or progeny thereof) comprising all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of NUN 6109 LTL listed in Table 1 asdetermined at the 5% significance level for numerical characteristics oridentical for non-numerical characteristics when grown under the sameenvironmental conditions and/or comprising one or more (or all; or allexcept one, two or three) of the distinguishing characteristics asdetermined at the 5% significance level when grown under the sameenvironmental conditions.

Also at-harvest and/or post-harvest characteristics of heads or leavescan be compared, such as cold storage holding quality, post-harvest leafcrispyness and leaf browning or pinking after cutting can be measuredusing known methods.

The morphological and/or physiological characteristics may vary somewhatwith variation in the environment (such as temperature, light intensity,day length, humidity, soil, fertilizer use), which is why a comparisonunder the same environmental conditions is preferred. Colors can best bemeasured against The Munsell Book of Color (Munsell Color MacbethDivision of Kollmorgan Instruments Corporation) or using the RoyalHorticultural Society Chart (world wide web atrhs.org.uk/Plants/RHS-Publications/RHS-colour-charts).

In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides for lettuce heads orleaves of variety NUN 6109 LTL, or a part of the head or a leaf or apart of a leaf. In another embodiment, the invention provides for acontainer comprising or consisting of a plurality of harvested lettuceheads or leaves of NUN 6109 LTL, or progeny thereof, or a derivedvariety.

In yet a further embodiment, the invention provides for a method ofproducing a new lettuce plant. The method comprises crossing a plant ofthe invention NUN 6109 LTL, or a plant comprising all but 1, 2, or 3 ofthe morphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 6109 LTL (aslisted in Table 1), or a progeny plant thereof, either as male or asfemale parent, with a second lettuce plant (or a wild relative oflettuce) one or more times, and/or selfing a lettuce plant according tothe invention i.e. NUN 6109 LTL, or a progeny plant thereof, one or moretimes, and selecting progeny from said crossing and/or selfing. Thesecond lettuce plant may for example be a line or variety of the speciesLactuca sativa, or other Lactuca species or even other Asteraceaespecies.

Progeny are a later generation (of seeds) produced from the first crossof NUN 6109 LTL the F1 hybrid with another plant (F1) or with itself(S1), or any further generation produced by crossing and/or selfing (F2,F3, F4, etc.; S2, S3, S4, etc) and/or backcrossing (BC2, BC3, etc.) oneor more selected plants of the F1 and/or S1 and/or BC2 generation (orplants of any further generation, e.g. the F3) with another lettuceplant (and/or with a wild relative of lettuce). Progeny may have all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of lettuce variety NUN6109 LTL when grown under the same environmental conditions and/orprogeny may have (be selected for having) one or more of thedistinguishing characteristics of lettuce of the invention. Using commonbreeding methods such as backcrossing or recurrent selection, one ormore specific characteristics may be introduced into NUN 6109 LTL, toprovide or a plant comprising all but 1, 2, or 3 or more of themorphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 6109 LTL (aslisted in Table 1).

The invention provides for methods of producing plants which retain allthe morphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 6109 LTL. Theinvention provides also for methods of producing a plant comprising allbut 1, 2, or 3 or more of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of NUN 6109 LTL (e.g. as listed in Table 1), but whichare still genetically closely related to NUN 6109 LTL. The relatednesscan, for example be determined by fingerprinting techniques (e.g.,making use of isozyme markers and/or molecular markers such asSingle-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, amplified fragment lengthpolymorphism (AFLP) markers, microsatellites, minisatellites, RandomAmplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, restriction fragment lengthpolymorphism (RFLP) markers and others). A plant is “closely related” toNUN 6109 LTL if its DNA fingerprint is at least 80%, 90%, 95% or 98%identical to the fingerprint of NUN 6109 LTL. In a preferred embodimentAFLP markers are used for DNA fingerprinting (Vos et al. 1995, NucleicAcid Research 23: 4407-4414). A closely related plant may have aJaccard's Similarity index of at least about 0.8, preferably at leastabout 0.9, 0.95, 0.98 or more (van Eeuwijk and Law (2004), Euphytica137: 129-137). See also the Guidelines on Essentially Derived Varietiesfor lettuce published by the ISF (see website ‘Worldseed’, ‘EDV’), wherethe technical protocol for assessing the Jaccard index is outlined.

The invention also provides plants and varieties obtained by thesemethods. Plants may be produced by crossing and/or selfing, oralternatively, a plant may simply be identified and selected amongst NUN6109 LTL plants, or progeny thereof, e.g. by identifying a variantwithin NUN 6109 LTL or progeny thereof (e.g. produced by selfing) whichvariant differs from NUN 6109 LTL in one, two or three of themorphological and/or physiological characteristics (e.g. in one, two orthree distinguishing characteristics), e.g. those listed in Table 1 orothers. In one embodiment the invention provides a lettuce plant havinga Jaccard's Similarity index with NUN 6109 LTL of at least 0.8, e.g. atleast 0.85, 0.9, 0.95, 0.98 or even at least 0.99.

By crossing and/or selfing also (one or more) single traits may beintroduced into the variety of the invention i.e. NUN 6109 LTL (e.g.,using backcrossing breeding schemes), while retaining the remainingmorphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 6109 LTL and/orwhile retaining one or more distinguishing characteristics. A singletrait converted plant may thereby be produced. For example, diseaseresistance genes may be introduced, genes responsible for one or morequality traits, yield, etc. Both single genes (dominant or recessive)and one or more QTLs (quantitative trait loci) may be transferred intoNUN 6109 LTL by breeding with NUN 6109 LTL.

Any pest or disease resistance genes may be introduced into a plantaccording to the invention, i.e. NUN 6109 LTL, progeny thereof or into aplant comprising all but 1, 2, or 3 or more of the morphological andphysiological characteristics of NUN 6109 LTL (e.g. as listed in Table1). Resistance against one or more of the following diseases ispreferably introduced into plants of the invention: Downy mildew,Powdery mildew, Sclerotinia rot, Sclerotinia drop, Botrytis (Grey Mold),Verticillium Wilt, Pseudomonas spp. (Bacterial Soft Rot), Bacterial LeafSpot, Anthracnose, Bottom rot, Corky root rot, Lettuce mosaic virus,Turnip mosaic virus, Tomato bushy stunt virus (Dieback), Big vein,Cabbage Loopers, Root Aphid, Green Peach Aphid, Lettuce aphid, Pealeafminer, Beet western yellows and aster yellows. Resistance againstone or more of the following pests is preferably present or introducedinto plants of the invention: Sclerotinia minor (leaf drop), Sclerotiniasclerotiorum (leaf drop), Rhizoctonia solani (bottom drop), Erysiphecichoracearum (powdery mildew), Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae(Fusarium wilt) resistance. Other resistance genes, against pathogenicviruses (e.g. Lettuce infectious yellows virus (LIYV), lettuce mosaicvirus (LMV), Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Beet western yellows virus(BWYV), Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV)), fungi, bacteria or lettuce pestsmay also be introduced. In one embodiment resistance against Nasonoviaribisnigri biotype Nr:0 and/or Nr:1 is introduced into NUN 6109 LTL.Other resistance genes, against pathogenic viruses, fungi, bacteria,nematodes, insects or other pests may also be introduced.

Also, any resistance genes to physiological stresses may be introducedinto a plant according to the invention, i.e. NUN 6109 LTL, progenythereof or into a plant comprising all but 1, 2, or 3 or more of themorphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 6109 LTL (e.g. aslisted in Table 1). Resistance against one or more of the following ispreferably introduced into plants of the invention: Tipburn, Heat,Drought, Cold, Salt and/or Brown rob (Rib discoloration/rib blight).

Thus, invention also provides a method for developing a lettuce plant ina lettuce breeding program, using a lettuce plant of the invention, orits parts as a source of plant breeding material. Suitable plantbreeding techniques are recurrent selection, backcrossing, pedigreebreeding, mass selection, mutation breeding and/or genetic markerenhanced selection. For example, in one aspect, the method comprisescrossing NUN 6109 LTL or progeny thereof, or a plant comprising all but1, 2, or 3 or more of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of NUN 6109 LTL (e.g. as listed in Table 1), with adifferent lettuce plant, and wherein one or more offspring of thecrossing are subject to one or more plant breeding techniques selectedfrom the group consisting of recurrent selection, backcrossing, pedigreebreeding, mass selection, mutation breeding and genetic marker enhancedselection (see e.g. Brotman et al., Theor Appl Genet (2002)104:1055-1063). Pedigree selection, also known as the “Vilmorin systemof selection,” is described in, e.g., Allard, 1960, John Wiley & Sons,Inc.: Principles of plant breeding: 119-128, Library of Congress CatalogCard Number: 60-14240. For breeding methods in general see Principles ofPlant Genetics and Breeding, 2007, George Acquaah, Blackwell Publishing,ISBN-13: 978-1-4051-3646-4.

Thus, in one aspect a method for developing a lettuce plant in a lettucebreeding program is provided, using a lettuce plant of the invention, orits parts, as a source of plant breeding material. Suitable plantbreeding techniques are recurrent selection, backcrossing, pedigreebreeding, line selection, mass selection, mutation breeding and/orgenetic marker enhanced selection. For example, in one aspect, themethod comprises crossing a lettuce plant designated NUN 6109 LTL, orprogeny thereof, or a plant comprising all but 1, 2, or 3 or more of themorphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 6109 LTL (e.g. aslisted in Table 1), with a different lettuce plant selected from thegroup consisting of a plant of the same variety, a lettuce plant of adifferent variety, a (breeding) line, or a wild relative of lettuce(e.g., L. virosa or L. serriola), and wherein one or more offspring ofthe crossing are subject to one or more plant breeding techniquesselected from the group consisting of recurrent selection, backcrossing,pedigree breeding, mass selection, mutation breeding and genetic markerenhanced selection (see e.g. Dziechciarkova et al, PLANT SOIL ENVIRON.,50, 2004 (2): 47-58). For breeding methods in general see Principles ofPlant Genetics and Breeding, 2007, George Acquaah, Blackwell Publishing,ISBN-13: 978-1-4051-3646-4 or Principles of plant breeding, 1960,Allard, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: Library of Congress Catalog CardNumber: 60-14240).

In another aspect the invention provides a method of introducing asingle locus conversion or introducing a desired trait into a plantdesignated NUN 6109 LTL, comprising:

-   (a) crossing a plant designated NUN 6109 LTL, representative seed of    which having been deposited under Accession Number NCIMB 43022, with    a second plant comprising a desired single locus to produce F1    progeny plants;-   (b) selecting F1 progeny plants that have the single locus;    optionally selfing said F1 progeny plant to produce an F2 progeny    plant having said single locus;-   (c) crossing said F1 or F2 progeny plant of step (a) or step (b),    respectively, with a plant of NUN 6109 LTL, representative seed of    which having been deposited under Accession Number NCIMB 43022, to    produce backcross progeny plants;-   (d) selecting backcross progeny plants that have the single locus    and one or more (or all) distinguishing characteristics of lettuce    according to the invention and/or all the physiological and    morphological characteristics of NUN 6109 LTL to produce selected    backcross progeny plants; and-   (e) optionally repeating steps (c) and (d) one or more times in    succession to produce selected second or higher backcross progeny    plants that comprise the single locus and otherwise comprise    essentially all physiological and morphological characteristics when    grown under the same environmental conditions of a plant designated    NUN 6109 LTL.

In one embodiment the trait is disease resistance and the resistance isconferred to any race of Nasonovia ribisnigri, any race of Downy mildew,Powdery mildew, Sclerotinia rot, Sclerotinia drop, Botrytis (Grey Mold),Verticillium Wilt, Pseudomonas spp. (Bacterial Soft Rot), Bacterial LeafSpot, Anthracnose, Bottom rot, Corky root rot, Lettuce mosaic virus,Turnip mosaic virus, Tomato bushy stunt virus (Dieback), Big vein,Cabbage Loopers, Root Aphid, Green Peach Aphid, Lettuce aphid, Pealeafminer, Beet western yellows and aster yellows, Sclerotinia minor(leaf drop), Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (leaf drop), Rhizoctonia solani(bottom drop), Erysiphe cichoracearum (powdery mildew), Fusariumoxysporum f. sp. lactucae (Fusarium wilt), lettuce infectious yellowsvirus (LIYV), lettuce mosaic virus (LMV), Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV),Beet western yellows virus (BWYV), and Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV).

The invention also provides a lettuce plant comprising at least a firstset of the chromosomes of lettuce variety NUN 6109 LTL, a sample of seedof said variety having been deposited under Accession Number NCIMB43022; optionally further comprising a single locus conversion, whereinsaid plant has essentially all of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of the plant comprising at least a first set of thechromosomes of lettuce NUN 6109 LTL. In another embodiment, this singlelocus conversion confers a trait selected from the group consisting ofmale sterility, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance,disease resistance, environmental stress tolerance, modifiedcarbohydrate metabolism and modified protein metabolism.

In one embodiment, NUN 6109 LTL may also be mutated (by e.g.irradiation, chemical mutagenesis, heat treatment, etc.) and mutatedseeds or plants may be selected in order to change one or morecharacteristics of NUN 6109 LTL. Also natural mutants may be identifiedand used in breeding. Methods such as TILLING and/or EcoTILLING may beapplied to lettuce populations in order to identify mutants. Similarly,NUN 6109 LTL may be transformed and regenerated, whereby one or morechimeric genes are introduced into the variety. Transformation can becarried out using standard methods, such as Agrobacterium tumefaciensmediated transformation or biolistics, followed by selection of thetransformed cells and regeneration into plants. A desired trait (e.g.genes conferring pest or disease resistance, herbicide, fungicide orinsecticide tolerance, etc.) can be introduced into NUN 6109 LTL, orprogeny thereof, by transforming NUN 6109 LTL or progeny thereof with atransgene that confers the desired trait, wherein the transformed plantretains essentially all the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of NUN 6109 LTL or the progeny thereof and contains thedesired trait.

The invention also provides for progeny of lettuce variety NUN 6109 LTLobtained by further breeding with NUN 6109 LTL. In one aspect progenyare F2 progeny obtained by crossing NUN 6109 LTL with another plant orS2 progeny obtained by selfing NUN 6109 LTL. Also encompassed are F3progeny obtained by selfing the F2 plants. “Further breeding”encompasses traditional breeding (e.g., selfing, crossing,backcrossing), marker assisted breeding, and/or mutation breeding. Inone embodiment, the progeny have one or more (or all) of thedistinguishing characteristics mentioned further above when grown underthe same environmental conditions. In a further embodiment the progenyhave all the physiological and morphological characteristics of varietyNUN 6109 LTL when grown under the same environmental conditions. Inanother embodiment the progeny have one, two, or three distinct traits(qualitative or quantitative) introduced into NUN 6109 LTL, whileretaining all the other physiological and morphological characteristicsof variety NUN 6109 LTL when grown under the same environmentalconditions.

The invention also provides a plant having one, two or threephysiological and/or morphological characteristics which are differentfrom those of NUN 6109 LTL and which otherwise has all the physiologicaland morphological characteristics of NUN 6109 LTL, wherein arepresentative sample of seed of variety NUN 6109 LTL has been depositedunder Accession Number NCIMB 43022. In particular plants which differfrom NUN 6109 LTL in none, one, two or three of the characteristicsmentioned in Table 1 are encompassed.

In one aspect, the plant having one, two or three physiological and/ormorphological characteristics which are different from those of NUN 6109LTL and which otherwise has all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of NUN 6109 LTL differs from NUN 6109 LTL in one, two orthree of the distinguishing morphological and/or physiologicalcharacteristics selected from 1) average length/width index x10 offourth leaf; 2) average head weight; 3) average diameter of core at baseof head; 4) average core height from base of head to apex; 5) averagespread of frame leaves of mature plant; 6) average head size class; 7)average ratio of spread of frame leaves; 8) average undulations of theapical margin of the mature leaf; 9) blistering of the mature leaf.

In another embodiment the plant having one, two or three physiologicaland/or morphological characteristics which are different from those ofNUN 6109 LTL and which otherwise has all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of NUN 6109 LTL differs from NUN 6109 LTLin one, two or three morphological or physiological characteristic otherthan the “distinguishing morphological and/or physiologicalcharacteristics” (or essential physiological and/or morphologicalcharacteristics) of NUN 6109 LTL selected from: 1) average length/widthindex x10 of fourth leaf; 2) average head weight; 3) average diameter ofcore at base of head; 4) average core height from base of head to apex;5) average spread of frame leaves of mature plant; 6) average head sizeclass; 7) average ratio of spread of frame leaves; 8) averageundulations of the apical margin of the mature leaf; 9) blistering ofthe mature leaf.

Lettuce according to the invention, such as the variety NUN 6109 LTL, orits progeny, or a plant having all physiological and/or morphologicalcharacteristics but one, two or three which are different from those ofNUN 6109 LTL, can also be reproduced using vegetative reproductionmethods. Therefore, the invention provides for a method of producingplants, or a part thereof, of variety NUN 6109 LTL, comprisingvegetative propagation of variety NUN 6109 LTL. Vegetative propagationcomprises regenerating a whole plant from a plant part of variety NUN6109 LTL (or from its progeny or from or a plant having allphysiological and/or morphological characteristics but one, two orthree, which are different from those of NUN 6109 LTL), such as acutting, a cell culture or a tissue culture.

The invention also concerns methods of vegetatively propagating a plantof the invention. In certain embodiments, the method comprises the stepsof: (a) collecting tissue or cells capable of being propagated from aplant of the invention; (b) cultivating said tissue or cells to obtainproliferated shoots; and (c) rooting said proliferated shoots, to obtainrooted plantlets. Steps (b) and (c) may also be reversed, i.e. firstcultivating said tissue to obtain roots and then cultivating the tissueto obtain shoots, thereby obtaining rooted plantlets. The rootedplantlets may then be further grown, to obtain plants. In oneembodiment, the method further comprises step (d) growing plants fromsaid rooted plantlets.

The invention also provides for a vegetatively propagated plant ofvariety NUN 6109 LTL (or from its progeny or from or a plant having allbut one, two or three physiological and/or morphological characteristicswhich are different from those of NUN 6109 LTL, or a part thereof,having one or more distinguishing characteristics and/or all themorphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 6109 LTL (exceptfor the characteristics differing), when grown under the sameenvironmental conditions.

Parts of NUN 6109 LTL (or of its progeny or of a plant having allphysiological and/or morphological characteristics but one, two or threewhich are different from those of NUN 6109 LTL) encompass any cells,tissues, organs obtainable from the seedlings or plants, such as but notlimited to: lettuce heads or leaves or parts thereof, cuttings,hypocotyl, cotyledon, pollen, scion and the like. Such parts can bestored and/or processed further. Encompassed are therefore also food orfeed products comprising one or more of such parts, such as chopped,sliced, cut, ripped, bagged, preserved, cooked or frozen lettuce headsor leaves from NUN 6109 LTL or from progeny thereof, or from a derivedvariety, such as a plant having all but one, two or three physiologicaland/or morphological characteristics which are different from those ofNUN 6109 LTL.

In one aspect haploid plants and/or double haploid plants of NUN 6109LTL, or a plant having all but one, two or three physiological and/ormorphological characteristics which are different from those of NUN 6109LTL, or progeny of any of these, are encompassed herein. Haploid anddouble haploid (DH) plants can, for example, be produced by cell ortissue culture and chromosome doubling agents and regeneration into awhole plant. For DH production chromosome doubling may be induced usingknown methods, such as colchicine treatment or the like.

Also provided are plant parts derived from variety NUN 6109 LTL (or fromits progeny or from a plant having all but one, two or threephysiological and/or morphological characteristics which are differentfrom those of NUN 6109 LTL), or from a vegetatively propagated plant ofNUN 6109 LTL (or from its progeny or from a plant having all but one,two or three physiological and/or morphological characteristics whichare different from those of NUN 6109 LTL), being selected from the groupconsisting of: harvested lettuce heads or leaves or parts thereof,pollen, cells, fruits or parts thereof, petioles, cotyledons,hypocotyls, shoots or parts thereof, stems or parts thereof, or vines orparts thereof, roots or parts thereof, cuttings, or flowers.

In one embodiment, the invention provides for extracts of a plantdescribed herein and compositions comprising or consisting of suchextracts. In a preferred embodiment, the extract consists of orcomprises tissue of a plant described herein or is obtained from suchtissue.

In still yet another aspect, the invention provides a method ofdetermining the genotype of a plant of the invention comprisingdetecting in the genome (e.g., a sample of nucleic acids) of the plantat least a first polymorphism. The method may, in certain embodiments,comprise detecting a plurality of polymorphisms in the genome of theplant, for example by obtaining a sample of nucleic acid from a plantand detecting in said nucleic acids a plurality of polymorphisms. Themethod may further comprise storing the results of the step of detectingthe plurality of polymorphisms on a computer readable medium.

The invention also provides for a food or feed product comprising orconsisting of a plant part described herein wherein the plant part canbe identified as a part of the plant of the invention. Preferably, theplant part is a lettuce head or leaf or part thereof or another plantpart described herein. The food or feed product may be fresh orprocessed, e.g., chopped, sliced, cut, ripped, bagged, preserved, cookedand/or frozen etc. A plant part can for example be identified byisolating DNA of the plant part and comparing the DNA sequence with thatof a plant of NUN 6109 LTL (e.g. by alignment, if at least 99% of theDNA is identical (e.g. 99.5, 99.8 or even 99.9%) then the skilled personwill recognize the plant part as a part of NUN 6109 LTL). The skilledperson will know how to apply DNA sequence alignment techniques that areknown in the art. Alternatively, he may use a set of SNP markers thatare unique for NUN 6109 LTL to identify plant parts as part of NUN 6109LTL.

For example, containers such as cans, boxes, crates, bags, cartons,Modified Atmosphere Packagings, films (e.g. biodegradable films), etc.comprising plant parts of plants (fresh and/or processed) describedherein are also provided herein.

Marketable lettuce heads or leaves are generally sorted by size andquality after harvest. Alternatively the lettuce heads or leaves can besorted by leaf size, shape, texture, glossiness or color.

In a further embodiment a lettuce plant is provided, which(statistically significant) differs from the lettuce plant designatedNUN 6109, representative seeds of said lettuce plant having beendeposited under accession number NCIMB 43022, in at least one, two,three, four, or five morphological and/or physiological characteristicswhen grown under the same environmental conditions, whereby themorphological and/or physiological characteristics are those of Table 1.The plant does, thus, not differ in a statistically significant way fromNUN 6109 LTL in any of the other morphological and/or physiologicalcharacteristics of Table 1 when grown under the same conditions.

Development of NUN 6109

The variety NUN 6109 LTL was developed from an initial cross between twolettuce breeding lines. The female and male parents were crossed toproduce hybrid (F1) seeds. After the cross, F1 plants wereself-pollinated. From the second to the fifth generation pedigreeselection was performed. From the sixth to the ninth generation lineselection was performed.

The variety is uniform and genetically stable. This has been establishedthrough evaluation of horticultural characteristics. Several seedproduction events resulted in no observable deviation in geneticstability. The Applicant concluded that NUN 6109 LTL is uniform andstable.

Deposit Information

A total of 2500 seeds of variety NUN 6109 LTL were deposited accordingto the Budapest Treaty by Nunhems B.V. on Apr. 5, 2018, at the NCIMBLtd., Ferguson Building, Craibstone Estate, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB219YA, United Kingdom (NCIMB). The deposit has been assigned AccessionNumber NCIMB 43022. A deposit of NUN 6109 LTL and of the male and femaleparent line is also maintained at Nunhems B.V. Access to the depositwill be available during the pendency of this application to personsdetermined by the Director of the U.S. Patent Office to be entitledthereto upon request. Subject to 37 C.F.R. § 1.808(b), all restrictionsimposed by the depositor on the availability to the public of thedeposited material will be irrevocably removed upon the granting of thepatent. The deposit will be maintained for a period of 30 years, or 5years after the most recent request, or for the enforceable life of thepatent whichever is longer, and will be replaced if it ever becomesnonviable during that period. Applicant does not waive any rightsgranted under this patent on this application or under the Plant VarietyProtection Act (7 USC 2321 et seq.).

The most similar variety to NUN 6109 LTL is GREEN TOWERS, (considered asstandard regional check variety), a commercial variety from Harris MoranCo. (Modesto, Calif.) In Table 1 a comparison between NUN 6109 LTL andGREEN TOWERS is shown based on a trial in the USA. Trial location:Acampo, Calif. USA, Planting date: Jan. 20, 2015.

Two replications of 50 plants each, from which 15 plants or plant partswere randomly selected to measure characteristics. In Table 1 the USDAdescriptors of NUN 6109 LTL (this application) and reference GREENTOWERS (commercial variety) are summarized.

TABLE 1 USDA descriptors NUN 6109 GREEN USDA descriptor LTL TOWERS Planttype; 1 = Cutting/Leaf; 2 = Butterhead; 4 4 3 = Bibb; 4 = Cos orRomaine; 5 = Great Lakes group; 6 = Vanguard group; 7 = Salinas group; 8= Eastern group; 9 = Stem; 10 = Latin; 11 = Other (specify) Seed Color 11 1 = white (silver gray), 2 = black (grey brown), 3 = brown Cotyledonto fourth leaf stage Shape of Cotyledons 3 3 1 = broad, 2 =intermediate, 3 = spatulate Shape of fourth leaf 4 4 1 = transverseoval; 2 = round; 3 = oval; 4 = elongated; 5 = lanceolate; 6 = pinnatelylobed Length/width index of fourth leaf (L/W*10) 26  24  Apical margin 11 1 = entire, 2 = crenate/gnawed, 3 = finely dentate, 4 = moderatelydentate, 5 = coarsely dentate, 6 = incised, 7 = lobed, 8 = other(undulate) Basal margin 4 4 1 = entire, 2 = crenate/gnawed, 3 = finelydentate, 4 = moderately dentate, 5 = coarsely dentate, 6 = incised, 7 =lobed, 8 = other (undulate) Undulation 2 2 1 = flat, 2 = slight, 3 =medium, 4 = marked Green color 3 (RHS 3 (RHS 1 = yellow green, 2 = lightgreen, 3 = Yellow Yellow medium green, 4 = dark green Green Green 144A)146B) Anthocyanin: Distribution 1 1 1 = absent, 2 = margin only, 3 =spotted, 4 = throughout Concentration NA NA 1 = light, 2 = moderate, 3 =intense Rolling 1 1 1 = absent, 2 = present Cupping 1 1 1 = uncupped, 3= markedly Reflexing 1 1 1 = none, 2 = apical margin, 3 = lateralmargins Mature leaves (harvest mature outer leaves): Margin: Incisiondepth (deepest penetration of the 1 1 margin) 1 = absent/shallow (DarkGreen Boston), 2 = moderate (Vanguard), 3 = deep (Great Lakes 659)Indentation (finest divisions of the margin) 2 2 1 = entire, 2 =shallowly dentate (Great Lake 65), 3 = deeply dentate (Great Lake 659)Undulations of the apical margin 3 2 1 = absent/slight (Dark GreenBoston), 2 = moderate (Vanguard), 3 = strong (Great Lakes 659) Greencolor 3 (RHS 3 (RHS 1 = very light green, 2 = light green, 3 = YellowYellow medium green, 4 = dark green, 6 = other Green Green 146A) 146A)Anthocyanin: Distribution 1 1 1 = absent, 3 = spotted (California CreamButter), 4 = throughout (Prize Head) Concentration NA NA 1 = light, 2 =moderate, 3 = intense Size 2 3 1 = small, 2 = medium, 3 = largeGlossiness 2 2 1 = dull, 2 = moderate, 3 = glossy Blistering 3 2 1 =absent/slight, 2 = moderate, 3 = strong Leaf thickness; 1 = thin, 2 =intermediate, 3 3 3 = thick Trichomes; 1 = absent, 2 = present 1 1 PlantSpread of frame leaves 31 cm 42 cm Head diameter NA NA Head shape 5 5 1= flattened, 4 = elongate, 5 = non-heading Head size class 2 3 1 =small, 2 = medium, 3 = large Head per carton nr nr Head weight 594 g 673g Head firmness 1 1 1 = loose, 3 = Firm, 4 = very firm Butt Shape 3 3 1= slightly concave, 2 = flat, 3 = rounded Midrib 2 2 1 = Flattened, 2 =Moderately Raised, 3 = prominently raised Core Diameter at base of head28 mm 34 mm Ratio of spread of frame leave   1.1   1.2 Core height frombase of head to apex 43  62  Bolting (first water date:) nr nr Maturity(earliness of harvest-mature head formation) Location: Acampo, CA;planting date: 20 Jan. 2015 Winter 74  72  Adaptation: 0 = not tested, 1= not adapted, 2 = adapted Primary regions of adaptation Southwest (CAand/or AZ desert) 2 West coast 2 Northeast 0 North Central 0 Southeast 0Season Spring 2 (Area nr West Coast) Summer 2 (Area nr West Coast) Fall2 (Area nr West Coast) Winter 2 (Area West nr Coast) + Southwest)Greenhouse nr nr Soil type 3 3 1 = mineral, 2 = organic, 3 = both Theseare typical values. Values may vary due to environment. Other valuesthat are substantially equivalent are also within the scope of theinvention. N.A. = not applicable; n.r. = not recorded.

TABLE 2 other descriptors NUN 6109 GREEN Other descriptor LTL TOWERSFourth leaf length 59.4 mm 53.9 mm Fourth leaf width 25 mm 22.6 mmMature plant height 22.1 cm 32.7 cm

The invention claimed is:
 1. A whole plant, a plant part or a seed oflettuce variety NUN 6109 LTL, wherein a representative sample of saidseed has been deposited under Accession Number NCIMB
 43022. 2. A wholeplant or part thereof grown from the seed of claim
 1. 3. The plant partof claim 2, further defined as a leaf, head, pollen, stem, an ovule, afruit, a scion, a rootstock, cutting, flower or a part of any of theseor a cell.
 4. A whole lettuce plant, which does not differ at the levelof 5% when grown under the same environmental conditions from lettucevariety NUN 6109 LTL of claim 2, or a part of said whole lettuce plant.5. A tissue or cell culture of regenerable cells of lettuce variety NUN6109 LTL of claim
 2. 6. The tissue or cell culture according to claim 5,comprising cells or protoplasts from a plant part selected from thegroup consisting of embryos, meristems, cotyledons, hypocotyl, pollen,leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, petiole, flower, fruit, seed,stem and stalks.
 7. A lettuce plant regenerated from the tissue or cellculture of claim 5, wherein the plant has all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the plant of lettuce variety NUN 6109LTL, wherein a representative sample of seed of said variety has beendeposited under Accession Number NCIMB 43022, where numerical values aredetermined at the 5% level when grown under the same environmentalconditions.
 8. A method of producing of lettuce variety NUN 6109 LTL ofclaim 2, or a part thereof, comprising vegetative propagation of saidvariety.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein said vegetative propagationcomprises regenerating a whole plant from a part of lettuce variety NUN6109 LTL, wherein a representative sample of seed of said variety hasbeen deposited under Accession Number NCIMB
 43022. 10. The method ofclaim 8, wherein said part is a cutting, a cell culture or a tissueculture.
 11. A vegetative propagated plant propagated from the plantpart of lettuce variety NUN 6109 LTL of claim 2, wherein the propagatedplant has all of the physiological and morphological characteristics ofthe plant of claim 2 when determined at the 5% level for plants grownunder the same environmental conditions.
 12. A method of producing alettuce plant, comprising crossing the plant of claim 2 with a secondlettuce plant.
 13. The method of claim 12 further comprising a step ofselecting first generation progeny from said crossing.
 14. The method ofclaim 13 further comprising a step of allowing the first generationprogeny to form seed.
 15. A first generation progeny of the lettucevariety NUN 6109 LTL of claim 2 obtained by further breeding with saidvariety.
 16. A food or feed product comprising the plant part of claim3.
 17. A lettuce plant comprising at least a first set of thechromosomes of lettuce variety NUN 6109 LTL of claim 2.